


Lying For You

by nsyncgrrl



Category: Music RPF, NSYNC, Pop Music RPF, Popslash
Genre: 1990s, 2000s, Angst, Boyband, Celebrities, M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 10:47:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29099040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nsyncgrrl/pseuds/nsyncgrrl
Summary: Justin is tired of living a lie, but Lance reminds him that he's not the only one.
Relationships: Lance Bass/Justin Timberlake
Kudos: 2





	Lying For You

The hotel room was illuminated by only the small light between the double beds. The soft amber glow gave the anonymous room a cozy ambiance, and Justin could almost believe he wasn't so far away from his family as he stared up at the bare ceiling, but it was a lie. He lay on his back on one of the beds, his hands laced behind his head, his thoughts whirling like a carousel in his mind. Beside him Lance sat propped back against the pillows, his laptop open on his legs. The faint clack of the keyboard punctuated the comfortable silence between them, his hunt-and-peck style of typing bringing a slight smile to Justin's lips. Justin's elbow rested easily against Lance's thigh, the soft touch of skin on skin just enough to remind both of them that the night wasn't as lonely as it could have been.

"Lance?" Justin asked quietly. He looked up at his lover, who glanced down at him before shifting his gaze back to the computer screen.

"Hmm?" Lance replied, only half listening.

Justin frowned. "I've been thinking," he said, mulling the words over in his head before letting them fall from his tongue. "I think if they ask me tomorrow, I might say yes."

"What made you change your mind?" Lance asked, his fingers picking out the keys slowly. When Justin didn't respond right away, Lance looked over at him and frowned. "Justin? You told me you didn't want to go along with it."

"I know," Justin whispered. "I don't. I ..." He sighed and closed his eyes. "I love _you,_ Lance. I don't want to pretend I don't. And I don't want you to think --"

"Baby, it was _my_ idea," Lance reminded him. "I'm not going to think you don't love me just because everyone thinks you're dating her. Not when I know the truth. You sleep with _me._ You're _mine._ Saying yes tomorrow doesn't change that."

"You sure?" Justin asked. He rolled over on his side and propped himself up on one elbow as he watched Lance carefully.

"I'm sure," Lance replied, nodding. After a moment, he clicked off the laptop. Folding it up, he set it on the floor beside the bed and laid back against the pillows. With one hand he picked at Justin's curls, brushing them back from his forehead. Beneath the gentle touch, Justin closed his eyes and smiled slightly. "I'm glad you're finally going to do this," Lance said, his deep voice soft.

Justin sighed. "I don't understand why it's so important --"

"Justin," Lance said, exasperated. "We've gone over this. Many times. We agreed on it back in July, remember? And you balked."

"I didn't feel comfortable lying," Justin admitted. He ran a finger down Lance's thigh, the hair downy beneath his touch. "I still don't _want_ to do it. Not to her, not to the fans, most of all not to you."

"You aren't lying to me," Lance said, smiling. "You know she loves you. She always has. And when you told her about us, she was more than willing to stand by you. By _us._ She tells the magazines you're dating, and what do you say? We're just friends?" He saw the pout pull at Justin's full lips and sighed. "You know how stupid that makes her look? Jeez, your fans already hate her as it is. So saying you two are dating isn't exactly good for her PR, you know?"

"Yeah," Justin said, nodding. "I know."

Lance's fingers threaded through his lover's brindled curls. "Then what's the problem, baby? She's one of your best friends."

"I don't want to take advantage of that," Justin whispered. He blinked back tears that stung his eyes -- he hated this. This lie, this _need_ to lie, to keep the world from knowing the truth of who he was, who he loved. He was nothing without Lance, and none of his fans could ever know that. He didn't think any of them would ever understand. Pinching the bridge of his nose painfully to keep back the tears that threatened to fall, he sighed lustily. "Maybe I shouldn't say anything. Maybe they won't ask."

"Justin, they _always_ ask," Lance pointed out. That was true -- he couldn't do an interview anymore without the question coming up. It was his own fault, really. He remembered vividly the summer weekend they spent in New York, just him and Lance and Britney, the three of them laughing at the sky from the balcony of their posh hotel room, comfortable with the night and the moment and each other.

It had started with a joke, really, one of those "what if" questions that got the whole thing rolling. Lance loved the idea, and between him and Britney, they managed to concoct a complicated and intricate relationship -- they had it all planned out. The false marriage announcement to get the fans interested. The almost-kiss at the Teen Choice Awards. The quick pictures of the two of them in New York -- well, they hadn't really planned _that,_ but it worked in well. The seating arrangements at the VMAs, the article in _Elle,_ the rumored confession in _CosmoGirl,_ though he hadn't been able to go through with it then and chickened out at the last minute, just sticking to his usual "we're friends, nothing more" answer. Hell, he didn't think he could go through with it now. "You won't be mad?" he asked timidly, easing his hand up Lance's thigh beneath the thin fabric of his lover's boxer shorts.

Lance cupped Justin's face in his palm, his thumb brushing softly at the tender skin just below Justin's eye. "You can't make me mad, Justin. Trust me. I love you too much." His thumb trailed down Justin's cheek to smooth across his lips. Justin kissed the pad of Lance's thumb, his mouth opening just enough to dampen the rough skin. His fingers eased around Lance's thigh, brushing across feathery hair, the skin warm and soft beneath his touch. "I don't want to lose you," Lance said gently. "I don't want anything to come between us -- not the fans, not ignorance, or hatred, or anything like that. So if they ask you tomorrow, tell them yes. Then Brit won't look like a fool, saying you guys are an item and you just saying you're friends. No one has to know about us. Let them think _we're_ the ones who are only friends. Let them think whatever they want. _We_ know the truth."

Justin sighed. Wrapping his fingers around Lance's wrist, he pressed his face into his lover's hand and closed his eyes. His brow wrinkled as he remembered all the times in the past few months when he'd dodged the question. He wasn't comfortable saying the words, even though she said it was okay, the guys said he should go for it -- hell, even _Lance_ was cool with it. "One day," he whispered, kissing Lance's palm, "I'm going to stand up on the rooftops and shout it to the world. Everyone will know the way I feel. I'm going to tell them about the way your eyes glow after we make love, and I'm going to tell them about the way you feel in my arms, so real, so alive, so _right._ I'm going to sing it to the moon and the sun and the stars and I'm never going to stop. I want them to know you're my music, my love, my one and only forever after. I want the whole world to know how much I love you."

"One day," Lance promised. He leaned down and placed his cool lips against Justin's, the crush of velvet skin calming the whirlwind in Justin's mind. "But until then, it'll just be you and me, and no one has to know the way we feel together." Another kiss, this one a little more, lingering a little longer. "The way we feel for each other." The next kiss parted Justin's lips, the hint of a sweet tongue licking between them. "The way I love you. Forever."

Justin looked into Lance's light green eyes, shimmery like satin, those eyes that told him so much when words couldn't possibly contain all they wanted to say. "I'll do it, then," he whispered. "For you." He let Lance press him back against the mattress, his hands soothing along Justin's chest, his body hard against Justin's own. He'd say yes tomorrow, for Lance. Yes, yes, a thousand times yes, anything to be able to hold onto the man in his arms and to promise forever to him, for as long as forever lasted.


End file.
